It was pleasant to agree to it in the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, but it was actually a bit difficult to successfully persuade Zhu Yijun to agree to this matter. Even Gao Pragmatic had to think carefully about his rhetoric.
There are several reasons why this matter is difficult.
One is that the imperial court has become accustomed to using this group of free labor. Neither the Ministry of Industry nor Zhu Yijun himself can easily understand why they have to pay to use this group of "idle labor". Aren't you soldiers raised by the imperial court? Since
Yes, why don't you listen to the imperial court's orders?
The second reason is that the Ministry of Industry is a civil service bureau, and except for Gao Jingshi, who is in charge of the military affairs of the Jingying camp, the rest are basically military ministers. At most, there are only a few low-level clerks in the Five Prefectures. There is really a huge difference in status.
.
When facing the Wuchen Yamen, the psychological habit of the Wenchen Yamen is to come and leave as soon as they are called. The Ministry of Works probably thinks this way: I, the Ministry of Works, call your people to do things, so we are looking down on you, and you should feel extremely honored.
Yes, why are you so ignorant that you still talk to me about money?
Of course, in addition to the huge difference in civil and military status, the formation of this mentality is also one of the reasons why the Beijing camp was really useless before. The Ministry of Industry probably also has a waste utilization mentality.
Since it is already used as waste, what is the point of talking about money? It is like picking up horse manure on the street, do you still have to pay the horse owner?
The third is that Zhu Yijun may not be able to calculate this account. In fact, this account can be seen directly on paper. Once the court pays out money, it does seem to be a loss, but Gao Pragmatic knows that this view is too superficial. The country
How are the economic accounts of levels calculated in this way?
The Beijing Camp or the Three Great Camps, a thing created by the father and son Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, originally existed as the "Central Army" of the imperial court. What are the characteristics of the "Central Army"?
The characteristic is that no matter how bad the finances of your court are, you must maintain the stability of this army, because once this army becomes unstable, your court will not be far from falling apart - for this point, see the final years of Chongzhen
It was very clear that after all the troops that the imperial court could mobilize smoothly were destroyed, regardless of whether it was Wu Sangui, Zuo Liangyu or other soldiers, Chongzhen had no other option but to coax and support him.
Of course the imperial court now knows this, so it still has to invest a lot of money in the Jingying camp every year. The maintenance and replacement of weapons and equipment is on the one hand, and the maintenance of the Jingying camp at least will not starve people to death, and the freezing to death is on the other hand.
But now that Gao Pragmatic has carried out the restructuring of the Production and Construction Corps, the imperial court has actually been liberated in this area, because from now on, the Production and Construction Corps will not only be "responsible for its own profits and losses", but also have to feed and supply the Imperial Guards, which truly serve as the central field army.
In this process, the proportion borne by the court was already very low. Most of the regular expenses were borne by the Production and Construction Corps, while the court's allocation was only responsible for equipment replacement - such as the purchase of new cannons, muskets, etc.
Of course, there is an exception to this special situation during wartime. This is in the nature of "war funds" and must be paid for by the court.
So in this case, since Jingying has to be responsible for its own profits and losses, whether it accepts projects or produces on its own, it is a commercial operation. At this time, your court has to come to use others in vain, how can you justify it?
As for whether it is a loss or not, firstly, the regular burden on the court itself has been reduced, and the Ministry of Household Affairs no longer needs to spend this expenditure. Of course, this money can be turned back to the Ministry of Works for major projects. Secondly, the Production and Construction Corps is defined by Gao Pragmatically as
After being commercial in nature, it is also subject to tax, and it is also a special tax - Gao pragmatically named it "production and construction surplus tribute."
This "production and construction surplus tribute" is a quarter of the production and construction corps' annual surplus after accounting by Gao Pragmatic, the minister of military affairs, as a special "tribute" paid to the internal funds.
Why is it internal funds instead of the Ministry of Accounts? Because Gao Pragmatic believes that this money only needs to be linked to the Ministry of Accounts. At present, when the Practical School controls the Ministry of Accounts, it may be able to control it and not interfere too much, but in the future, if the Ministry of Accounts does not return,
Once the Practical School takes control, according to the habits of the civil service group, they will most likely come up with evil ideas. For example, directly interfering, or even squeezing the Production and Construction Corps by changing the payment ratio, then it will be over.
The Production and Construction Corps is actually the financial foundation of the Imperial Guard. If it is destroyed by the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Imperial Guard will also be destroyed. Such a pragmatic restructuring of the Beijing camp will also be aborted.
Therefore, Pragmatic would rather give the money to internal funds than to the Ministry of Revenue. Even if the Ministry of Revenue is still in power under the Practical School, he would not dare to make such an opening.
And there is another advantage to this, that is, even if Zhu Yijun is looking at this money, he will consider more about safeguarding the interests of the Production and Construction Corps, instead of allowing them to be bullied by the civilian group and remain indifferent.
However, judging from the actions of the Ministry of Industry this time, either Zhu Yijun is not informed at all, or he has not adapted to this idea, or even more directly, he may not know how much "tribute" the Production and Construction Corps can pay him.
Perhaps in Zhu Yijun's mind, Amitabha would be thankful that the Production and Construction Corps could support themselves and the Imperial Guard according to a highly pragmatic plan. As for paying tribute, he might not have even counted on it.
Gao Pragmatic analyzed the interest relationships in his mind over and over again. Only after he had clearly sorted it out did he feel relaxed. He looked at the time and was about to make a decision again.
Tonight is the same as before, I will spend the night directly at Zhuangyuandi in Jinggongfang, Zhaohui, instead of going to Baiyu Tower.
But to his surprise, when he returned to the No. 1 Scholar's Office, he found that a guest had already arrived.
This guest is very familiar with Gao Pragmatic, the number one scholar, and is sitting in the viewing pavilion admiring the scenery of Shichahai under the sunset.
Seeing Gao Pingshi coming over, the guest wearing a bright red silk unicorn robe came up to him with a smile, cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Brother Qiuzhen, I'm an uninvited guest. I want to have a dinner, but I don't know if Brother Qiu is willing to do so."
A donation?"
Gao pragmatic laughed loudly, returned the gift with his hand, and said half-jokingly: "The dignified Zuo Zong is coming to the door. It is extremely rude for a subordinate to miss you and greet him from afar. It is also appropriate to hold a banquet to apologize. How can we talk about charity?"
It turned out that this "uninvited guest" was none other than Hou Gongchen, the commander-in-chief of Zuo Zongzheng who had just been appointed.
Hou Gongchen has lived here for a short period of time and is very familiar with this place. Even the doormen of the house are familiar with him. In addition, Gao Pragmatic has already explained it to him, so Hou Gongchen can directly invite him.
Guests who came in, so he could wait directly in the house for Gao Pragmatic.
The servants of the Gao Mansion are naturally very discerning. When Hou Gongchen first arrived, they knew that he would definitely have a serious talk with his master, so they had already prepared a dinner for the two of them. Gao Pragmatic had the experience of losing weight in his previous life.
, so I was used to having dinner earlier, so I directly took Hou Gongchen with me.
Even a blind person could see why Hou Gongchen came here. Gao Pragmatic waited until the dishes were served and then sent the servants out. The two of them poured and drank by themselves and ate facing each other.
Gao Pragmatic was a drinker but not an alcoholic. Even when entertaining guests at night, he only used a small bottle of wine.
"This wine was shipped across the ocean from Florence in the far west to the Ming Dynasty. The quantity is quite limited, but I happen to have a few bottles here. Let's open a bottle today to celebrate Brother Hou's death.
new."
Gao pragmatic smiled, opened the wine bottle himself, and poured wine for Hou Gongchen.
Hou Gongchen was a little flattered and thanked him repeatedly.
"Oh, by the way, Brother Hou, look at this wine cork, do you think it's any different from my Da Ming?"
Hou Gongchen was stunned for a moment. He subconsciously took it and looked at it. He said softly, "Eh", squeezed it hard, and said hesitantly: "The wood of this bottle stopper is so soft."
Gao Pragmatic laughed loudly: "Brother Hou, it's true that it's a cork. Sealing and storing it in this way can ensure that the wine will never deteriorate."
Hou Gongchen said with some confusion: "It will never deteriorate? But our mud seal can also do it."
Gao pragmatic shook his head and said: "It's true that mud sealing is also possible, but brother Hou, don't you think that using such a cork to seal it will be higher in style?"
Hou Gongchen didn't understand what Gao Jingshi wanted to express, but he knew that Gao Jingshi must know his purpose here, so he didn't dare to take it seriously, so he could only follow Gao Jingshi's words and said: "Oh, that's true, it seems dry.
The clean ones do look better than the mud seals."
Gao pragmatic nodded and said: "Yes, it just looks good... Brother Hou, sometimes, if you want to get good results from doing things, whether it looks good or not is actually very important."
Hou Gongchen's heart moved, and he was thinking about what Gao Jingshi was implying, when suddenly he heard Gao Jingshi continue to introduce: "In addition to the cork, there is also this wine bottle - you see, this thing is called glass, crystal clear, like
Light green crystal, there is only one place in the far west called Venice, which can have such craftsmanship to make glass so exquisite."
Only then did Hou Gongchen notice the wine bottle, took it and looked at it, played with it carefully, then shook his head and said: "Although crystal is good, it is not as good as a gentleman's jade."
Gao Pingshi smiled and said: "China has had colored glaze for a long time. In fact, colored glaze and glass are quite similar, but because China appreciates jade, we often imitate the smoothness of jade and refuse to make it so crystal clear...
However, there is a beauty in muddyness and a beauty in transparency. Once this glass is made extremely transparent, it will be of great use."
"Oh?" Hou Gongchen was a little surprised, but looking at him, he seemed hesitant.
Gao pragmatic stood up and said, "I'll show Brother Hou two small things, and he will know the secret." After saying that, he turned around and went to the Nuan Pavilion next to him, and soon brought two things.
"There is no need to introduce these two things, the mirror. The other is called a telescope, which can double one's vision."
But having said that, Gao Pragmatic still handed over the mirror first and said at the same time: "Brother Hou, let's see what's the difference between this mirror and the bronze mirror?"
Hou Gongchen just took a look at it and was surprised: "I have seen this mirror in the princess's mansion. It is said to be a Western treasure that can show every detail. Princess Shouyang had one when she came out of the cabinet... but it's more realistic than seeking truth.
Brother, your piece is much smaller."
He secretly sighed in his heart: He is indeed the richest man in the world, but he actually treats such a large crystal mirror as an ordinary thing. I'm afraid this thing doesn't even have a few pieces in the palace.
Gao Pingshi smiled and said: "If Brother Hou likes it, I will give this mirror to Brother Hou. You can bring it to Your Highness the Princess next time." He said and handed it to Hou Gongchen without taking it seriously.
"Ah, how dare Gongchen accept such a valuable thing? Please..."
"Hey, what's the big deal." Gao Pragmatic shook his head and said: "Although this technology is regarded by the Venetians as more important than God, it is not a secret to me. If it weren't for our glass manufacturing technology, there would still be
The two difficulties have not been overcome, so I can make a lot of them in a minute - well, I mean, I, Jinghua, can make them at any time. As for this one, just think of it as a new gift to Brother Hou in advance."
Hou Gongchen said in surprise: "Is this mirror made of glass?"
Ah, this... aren't you talking nonsense?
Gao Pingshi's mouth twitched, but he still nodded: "Exactly."
Unexpectedly, Hou Gongchen frowned and said, "Can't we grind it out with crystal?"
Of course natural crystal can be ground like this, but do you not consider the cost at all?
Gao Pragmatic shook his head and said: "Once the glass manufacturing technology is conquered, the cost will of course be lower than that of crystal... But let's not talk about this today. You can look at this telescope later."
Hou Gongchen took the telescope and took a look under Gao Pragmatic's guidance. He was so frightened that he shrank his neck back and exclaimed: "How could it be so... miraculous?"
Hmm... your brother is indeed not from a good background and is a bit lacking in knowledge. It has been almost ten years since I introduced this telescope to the Ming army through Qi Jiguang and others. Even now, Jinghua itself no longer uses this kind of monocular telescope.
You have binoculars, but this is the first time you see it.
However, Gao Pragmatic didn't mean to ridicule others. He patiently introduced Hou Gongchen and then said: "Brother Hou, what do you think the use of this glass is?"
Hou Gongchen nodded and said: "It's a good thing, but...brother, please, you keep introducing this thing to me, isn't it just a whim? I'm here today because..."
"Of course I know why Brother Hou is here today. Aren't you giving advice to Brother Hou?"
Hou Gongchen was stunned and said hesitantly: "Brother Qiuzhen means... Zongfan's incident this time is actually related to glass?"
"It's not about glass, it's about silver." Gao Pragmatic shook his head and said, "The reason why I showed this to Brother Hou is because the biggest obstacle to opening the vassal ban is actually money. Even if everything goes well, the emperor and the court will still have to spend money.
A lot of money is used to provide the initial capital for clans that are willing to make a living on their own.
However, neither the imperial treasury nor the emperor's internal funds can come up with such a large sum of money now. Isn't Brother Hou here just for this matter today? Haha, Brother Hou, you see, I have already solved this problem.
The countermeasures for the matter have been given to Brother Hou, why did Brother Hou turn a blind eye?"
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